This is definiately not cycle related, but it is a judicial travesty. And it affects the environment.

Once Upon A Time there was a man who loved cars. He was also a successful businessman that for years imported products from around the world. One day, he found he needed a new dump truck, and decided he could get one from China for under $10,000. “Impossible” said everyone. After two years of research, work, and ALOT of money, Wuzheng NA was born, and this man became the first person to ever legally import Chinese vehicles into the United States for road use.Now, as this man began importing more and more trucks, he found that he had room in the containers for something small…..hmmmm…small electric cars! So Spark-EV was born, and this man became the first to import Chinese Low-Speed vehicles into the United States, the Flybo / 6000ZK.

More models followed – The Metropolis, the Quiet, the Transporter, and although all sold exceptionally well, they were all low-speed vehicles. Time to go full speed. So this man hired an Italian designer, designed the engineering himself, and the Comet was born. The Panda, Zotye, DFM-7 followed, and all was well..

Well, perhaps not all – Spark-EV was run by this man on a shoestring, both by choice and by necessity. Being self-employed since he was 13 years old, he was taught not to spend money recklessly. The computers & paperwork were in a home office. The manufacturing was completed in a local warehouse. Since there were to be distributors, let them have the nice offices & showrooms, things are running smoothly just like this, thank you very much.

So One Day, a few distributors ordered and paid for cars, one from Arkansas, one from Texas. The Arkansas dealer was sent two vehicles for their grand opening for free, since they were having an imminent grand-opening and needed something on the showroom floor (you can see our cars on their home page pictures). The Arkansas distributors, however, began to grow impatient with the time taken to deliver the cars they ordered/paid for, and decided to visit the man’s operations (This man’s office was his home, remember)

On the morning of their un-announced visit the Arkansas distributors, saying this as kindly as possible, went stark, raving mad. Whatever they were expecting, it was not an office being run out of a home. The GOOD news was that their cars were in the Port of Newark, in a 40 foot container, so all was well. The man provided the Arkansas distributors with all the paperwork required to go see the cars for themselves.

Instead of confirming the existence & delivery of their vehicles, the Arkansas distributors visited the local police department. “It MUST be a scam, he has an office in his house!” The man then visited the police department to explain, and also give the same paperwork to the officer so he could confirm the existence of the vehicles, where they were, etc.

The next thing the man knew, he was being arrested for Theft by Deception. While attempting to post bail, the local police came and seized all the equipment and paperwork required for the man to import or take delivery of vehicles. The Arkansas distributors then contacted the Texas distributor, and advised “it’s a scam, he has an office in his house!” Both distributors demanded full refunds.

The problem the man had was so simple, nobody seems to understand it – All the money was sent to China for cars. Without the seized paperwork and equipment, no cars can be imported, no deliveries can be made, no cars can be sold. No money can be made.

For three months now this man has begged on a daily basis for the return of his paperwork and equipment so he could sell vehicles that were rotting away in port to pay people back. The police department won’t even return phone calls. As of today, the man found, all vehicles that reached port have been seized to pay storage / container fees. All orders in China have been canceled. “Refund” is not a word the Chinese understand. It is now, alas, all gone.

For all those that supported this effort This man sincerely, from the bottom of his heart, thanks you. The business is gone, the money is gone, the cars are gone, the house with the home office is gone. The dream of an affordable electric vehicle from this man is gone.

Who killed the electric car? You, David, Roger, Rick and Dick. Roger, for being the keyboard commando who never took a chance of your own, David, for not waiting three more days, Rick, for blindly listening to others without checking things out yourself, and Dick, who should have retired already, for not asking any questions when investigating this matter.

UPDATE – 7/2/2008 This man received a letter today from a law firm, demanding that he “Cease and Desist From This Conduct” (This Web Page) which they consider to be “defamatory, malicious, untrue” etc. This man has posted nothing of the sort, so the webpage stays. (So there IS a positive in having lost everything and having nothing!)